NEW FOREST RUN 2001
19th and 20th May
Hundreds of MGs marking the 1930s, '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s to the very present MGF Trophy of 2001 assembled for the New Forest Run 2001. A spectacle to get the MG heart pumping and a sight that will only be repeated at the MGOC National Events and at MG Silverstone this year.
The weekend began with a leisurely drive up the A30 to Exeter where, after the brief punctuation of M5 frenetic activity, we continued on to Honiton before leaving on the A35, the main South Coast route to Poole and Bournemouth, and hence to our campsite at Milford on Sea.
After all the atrocious weather we have suffered over the last months (which seem like years) the temperature rose and the low clouds soon lifted for a glorious weekend that has to be enjoyed only in Cornwall, or in the second most beautiful place in England, the New Forest.
The New Forest Run kicked off on Saturday evening with MG owners and dare I say, one Jeep owner, meeting at the East Close Country Hotel at Hinton St.Michael near Christchurch. We arrived at approx 8:15pm to find the car park in front of the Hotel a 'sea of MGs' and we were directed to the overspill car park at the rear. On entering The Alice Bar, a room set aside for the meeting, we were immediately recognized by Andy as the ones in the Jeep and, as I had already e-mailed Steve & Lin Rowe about the availability of LPG (Gas), said that they had found a Petrol Station which supplied AutoGas on the Sunday route. The food available in the Hotel was excellent and the Fresh Fruit Pavlova was heavenly. From the moment we arrived, we were made to feel welcome and I was already wishing that I had been able to take the MG TF to the event. Returning to our campsite, only a couple of miles down the road, we prepared for a good night's sleep in preparation for the day ahead.
What a night! The sound of the Owls in the surrounding trees was very therapeutic but that of the snoring from a group of French tourists with classic Citroen, Renault, Facel and two Triumph Spitfires made it a 'long' night. Dawn broke for us with a Roadsweeper clearing up the chippings from the newly resurfaced adjacent road starting work at an unbelievable 5:30am. Surprisingly, we were soon up, having breakfast and decamping.
We reached the assembly point on Milford sea front just before 9:00am, as the Southampton & New Forest MGOC members were making final preparations and subtly parked the Jeep at the far end of the car park well away from the imminent arrival of MGs. By 10:00am, the car park was full of some of the finest examples of MGs in the South of England and particular interest was paid to the MG YA, which arrived early, not intending to participate on the run, but just because the owners has heard about the event on the radio that morning. The Y Type was soon joined by a MG VA, then a J2, a TA and a VA Tickford, the owners of which had dressed in period costumes. The Gentlemen wore blazers and flannels with 'Homburg' hats while the Ladies wore fur coats, and needing the Courage of Saints in this 'Politically Correct' climate, must have 'glowed' in the discomfort of a very hot day.
The first cars were flagged off at 10:00am with the earliest models path-finding before the general melee followed. Our journey led through the beautiful New Forest with its confusion of lush vegetation and trees, heathland of scrub and gorse to the magnificence of the colourful Rhododendrons around Beaulieu. Of course, the beauty of the forest is synonymous with the native fauna and the Ponies, while looking disheveled and underfed, were losing their winter's coat and foraging for the first of the summers grass. The Mares with Foals provided a spectacle as they grazed at the roadside evidently unfazed by the proximity of the motoring world passing them by.
Our 'halfway house' for lunch was taken at the Fortune Centre for Riding Therapy at Avon Tyrell near Bransgore. The Centre is a residential college for young people with special needs and celebrates its Silver Jubilee this year. While waiting for our Lunch, we were treated to an exhibition of horseback gymnastics by some of the students who clearly reveled in their own good 'fortune' to be at such a wonderful establishment. Talking to the students after lunch, they were most forthcoming about the ponies they had at the Centre and were themselves absorbed by the MGs that had come to visit them. One young man, however, couldn't understand why we had come to visit the Centre in a Jeep! Apart from trying to squeeze four persons and camping equipment into a MG TF, for once, we couldn't answer him.
With Lunch over, the procession moved off once more onto the A31 towards Southampton before turning back into the Forest and towards Ringwood. Our route took in the dense forest around Hurn and Matchams and on a personal note, I remember this part of the forest only too well in 1976 when forest fires ravaged through the New Forest laying waste vast areas leaving scorched heath and blackened stumps for trees behind.
Finally, we ended our 96 mile 'voyage of discovery' through the New Forest at Christchurch. An epic journey through the most beautiful of countryside to culminate alongside the banks of the river in glorious sunshine and warmth. 230 MGs instantly arranged by the Marshalls at our destination into MG Series and Types giving the general public a wonderful spectacle of our beloved marque.
In conclusion, a simply breathtaking weekend. Wonderful company, beautiful cars, exemplary organization and a credit to the MG Owners Club. My special thanks go to Steve and Lin Rowe for their invitation and I sincerely hope that we are able to bring a contingent of Cornwall MG Owners Club members to the Southampton and New Forest MGOC event next year. Thanks also for accepting a Jeep and doing all they could do to make our presence welcome. Next year I'll bring the Jeep again, but I will have the MG on a trailer behind!
Robert Lynex
Area Secretary Cornwall MG Owners Club